Chapter 7
Chapter
Seven
KENDRIX
I pulled up to the hole-in-the-wall motel we sent Sharlene to; it was good because no one paid attention over here to who came in and out of the rooms. The perfect place when a person needs to hide. Seth stood outside his car when he saw mine pull up. I never thought two people from two different worlds would be close friends. There was a lot for us to adjust to when we became roommates in college. His Japanese culture was different from my experience growing up, but we understood each other in other ways. He grew up seeing his mother get abused by his father too, his mother didn’t believe in divorce, so she stayed. Abuse has no ethnicity, culture, or preference.
“Let’s go down our timeline of what happened after she left my office.” We walked over to her room B23 and used the key that Seth had to let ourselves in.
The room looked like a massacre; blood was splattered on the walls, seeping into the carpet, and dried on the bed. Sharlene’s beautiful brown skin was now ashy and scarred. I took out my camera and captured a few photos; it was possible to find DNA under her nails.
“I left her here on Tuesday; she told me she would call her family friend and check on the kids. The family friend also had my number and was supposed to bring the kids to the airport on Friday so they could head to the destination. Her friend called me Friday night after they sat in the airport for hours waiting on Sharlene, who never showed up. I called the staff at the motel to check in on her, and they said it was against policy to knock on the door, but they claimed to have seen her leaving her room with a man.
“At least they assumed it was one from the person’s stature. Sharlene should have been on that plane at 9 am sharp on Friday, so what in the world happened? You do know this happened to Courtney, too, right? We thought it was a one-off situation, but I believe we were wrong then too.” Fuck, Seth reminded me of the woman we tried to help last year.
Her husband was abusive, of course, but he also worked for Slatesville Police Department. He thought he was untouchable because the previous commissioner, Terrence Howard, had them under the belief they could do whatever to whomever. Even though Terrence died two years ago, it still took a while for us to clean up that place.
Courtney got in touch with me and we set up her information and she should have been off to The Unkept Woman Inc , but she never showed up for her flight. I thought her husband had something to do with her death, so I sent him to prison for eight years.
“You might be right about that man, let’s call this in and get out of here. I have some calls to make I’ll keep you updated. let’s lay low for a little while.”
“Wait Kendrix did you see this?” Seth revealed a piece of paper clutched in Sharlene’s lifeless hand.
I opened the bloody paper to see a note addressed to me.
I had to get your attention one way Kendrix; you took from me, and now it’s my turn to take from you.
What is going on here?
PHOENIX
The round of applause that awaited me when I got to the restaurant almost made me tear up. My staff were standing in the kitchen smiling at me with welcome back balloons and a bouquet of flowers on the counter.
“Thank you guys, you are so sweet! I was out a few days; I promise I’m okay, don’t worry.” Behind the smiles I could see their concern for me. There hasn’t been a day in a while since I called out of work without it being on the schedule.
Madison hugged me first, and everyone else followed suit. We always started our day off with prayer.
“Dear Lord…”
The lunch rush came in and it felt good to be back in the kitchen. I didn’t have to think about anything here, all my attention stayed on my food. The muscle memory of making everything on this menu came second nature. `
1 pound of grass-fed ground beef
Season ground beef with onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
Dice red onions and bell peppers.
Fold into the mixture and roll out a few balls of meat .
Gran’s recipe seemed pretty straightforward, I wanted to make us lunch since she’s been busy all day.
A presence in the kitchen distracted me for a second but I didn’t turn around. I knew who it was. The tiny bumps on my arms that only popped up when I was around Kendrix, he has been a mystery ever since he came to live with us. It’s been a few months, and we only really talk to the guys, but he stares at me all the time. He stares like there is something on me that he can’t figure out, it is the scowl of those thick eyebrows. His pink lips are always tilted down in a frown. I asked Gran about it since she’s the only girl here, and she said, ‘Boys like Kendrix who come from bad homes want to cling onto your light; you are life and light, and he could use some of that.’. I nodded in confusion because I felt pretty mature for my age, but I didn’t understand what she meant.
“What are you making?” His voice was low and rough like it hurt for him to speak. The kids at our school avoided him a lot and were spreading all sorts of rumors.
“Um, some burgers. Gran usually helps me with him since it’s a lot of us to feed, but she’s busy, so I took it upon myself to do it.” I grabbed a handful of the mixture and rolled it into a ball, then I used my palms to flatten it on the countertop.
“Can I help?” I forgot for a second he was there.
“Yes, do you know how to cook?” The curiosity of who this boy is and what he stands for was too strong too not have him assist in the kitchen .
He walked over to the sink and washed his hands; my eyes tracked every move he made, though my hands never stopped making the burgers. Kendrix dried his hands, then put on one of Gran’s aprons over his graphic t-shirt. His locs were pulled back from his face with a scarf; I tried not to stare at him now that his shoulder was touching mine. This is the first time in months that his expression has been somewhat pleasant. Especially when I’m in the room, he laughs freely with the boys, and Gran has this special way of communicating with him. But we barely say two words to each other.
“Ummm, are you ready, Phoenix?” My name sounded so special coming off his lips. It did this weird thing where it felt like a warm hug. My body heated up on the rare occasions he did utter my namesake.
I felt like if I opened my mouth, something strange would come out, so I nodded and showed him what to do. After the tenth burger was made, we both seemed to relax more. Kendrix didn’t say much, but his energy felt lighter.
“Chef, it’s time for your lunch break. You know you will forget if you don’t go now.” Madison said, pulling me out of my thoughts.
“Alright, alright, finish this up for me, please. Yes, before you say it, I will be sure to take the full thirty minutes.” She smirked at me as I walked out the door.
I waved to a few of my regulars and walked in the office to see Kendrix sitting down with his laptop out.
“What are you doing here Kendrix?” I bit my lip to hide the smile that was automatically tuned to his megawatt one.
He stood up looking too good for this random ass Monday, the sweater clung to his wide chest and it pissed me off because why is he in here looking too good? The heaviness in between his legs made his walk more pronounced. Kendrix didn’t bother to put his locs up today he had them swinging in my direction.
My heart did that stupid thing it always does around him… beat so profusely that I would be concerned if this wasn’t the norm with us. Well with me I don’t know what his heart does when he sees me and to be honest I am tired of trying to figure it out.
Kendrix had a lot of inches on me, so I had to look up at him.
“I can’t come to see one of my favorite people in the world?” He put his hands on my waist and pulled me closer to him. The print on my stomach made me think that wasn’t the only reason for the visit.
“You don’t have to butter me up, Kendrix; flowers always put you at the bottom of my shit list for the day. Don’t get on my nerves, and we’ll be okay. ”
His dazzling smile faltered at my words. “Flowers? I didn’t send you any flowers, Jewel. Why did you think they were from me?”
“I assumed that they were. Who else would be sending me flowers? Let’s forget about it; I’m hungry.”
“Nah, Jewel, we are supposed to be doing this thing between us, which means you can't receive flowers from anyone else. As a matter of fact, go get the bouquet for me so I can find out who it is and shoot him.” His teasing smile was fully intact; deciding to play his game. I went to get the bouquet and smiled at the beautiful arrangements of black roses, marigolds, and carnations. I smirked at the puzzled look on Kendrix’s face when he plucked the note out before I could read it.
“What does it say?” The muscles in his rigid jaw tightened, and he crumbled the note in his hand.
“Is this your first time receiving a random gift from someone?” His voice was low and gruff, and his frustration was apparent through his clenched teeth.
“I guess so; now you’re scaring me, Kendrix. Tell me what’s going on.” Stepping into his space, I tried to pry the note out of his grasp, but he wouldn’t let me see it.
“Phoenix, I want you to go and eat your food that I left on the table for you. Everything is fine, and I will let you know if it isn’t, trust me.” I stared into his intense gaze. Clearly, something was wrong, but I knew he would tell me if I needed to worry about it.
“Alright, I guess.” I turned to walk away when he grabbed the back of my jacket to pull me back into his body.
“Wait, give me a kiss first.” I didn’t turn around, but that didn’t stop him from wrapping one hand around my neck, and the other sat perched on my hip.
“Kissing is not part of our arrangement; that’s only reserved for relationships.” His hand squeezed my neck slightly, sending signals straight to my core.
Kendrix's scent of cinnamon wafted its way into my heart. His hair draped over my face, enclosing me in his web. I felt his lips nibbling on my earlobe, and I bit on my bottom lip to conceal the fact that he remembered this to be one of my spots.
“Let me tell you something, Phoenix Diamond McClain; you are your namesake, a precious and rare jewel that deserves more than what I am able to give you. You are not going to let me treat you like any other woman in this world. You’re right; kissing is reserved for relationships, and that’s exactly what we have until we both walk away from this thing. I will be treating this blessing because that’s what you are to me – like the best thing God has ever given me with. Let me give you all of me for the next two months. I promise I won’t hold back; I promise to go beyond my understanding to ensure you don’t regret allowing me to spend one night in your bed.” The emotion in his voice touched me so deeply, I had to blink back a few tears. Clearly, I was in over my head with this whole thing, and we haven’t even started anything yet. Kendrix wanted to pretend that I was his for a little while, and I foolishly thought this would get him out of my system.
He’s already been festering in my heart, clinging tighter to the pieces that would always belong to him.
“Okay,” I softly uttered because if I uttered any louder, my voice would crack.
There have been so many times over the years that Kendrix has kept his heart closed off from me like I was an intruder, ready to steal it and never return. I wanted to give his heart for mine. This version of him is the one that he doesn’t let many people see.
Kendrix turned me around in his arms, his eyes captivated me with the unshed tears. This man looked ready to cry; his long, thick eyelashes that made me jealous fluttered each time he blinked. He’s so damn gorgeous, from the natural arch in his thick brows, to his strong cheekbones that proved he could be a model. The large nostrils accompanied by his nose slightly protruded from his face. His facial hair hid the tiny space above his two-toned lips. Those lips that once made me feel everything, he went on a mission to cover every inch of my body with the pinkish-brown pillows. The small, maintained beard that was long enough to pull helped make up his face. His skin reminded me of warm honey with golden brown hues.
“Why are you about to cry Kenny?” My thumb caressed those sharp cheekbones, hoping he would let the guard around his heart down for a little while longer with me.
“I—.” He took a deep breath, and I didn’t rush him to say what was on his heart.
Kendrix shared a few stories with me in the past about the abuse he experienced from his father, especially when he showed human emotions like sadness. It was hard for him to let me be the one who witnessed his tears.
“I know I haven’t done the best job with your heart, Jewel, and you don’t trust me. But I swear I only have the best intentions with you. It messed with me knowing things out of my control have kept us apart. I need you to know that I am doing my best to make it all disappear. I know that eventually you will find out what’s going on, and I want to be the one to tell you, but not yet. This is selfish of me, but I need you to love me, I need you to care about me, and I need you to give me your all. There is no one else on this earth who makes me a better man. I need you to not give up on me baby, please.” The tears slipped from his eyes; I caught them with my thumb.
He pressed his forehead to mine; I took a shuddering breath and released it to try to respond. What does he want me to say? I would regret this later, but we will cross that bridge when we get there.
“You won’t tell me what’s going on, Kendrix, so I can only have so much grace. I will give these next two months everything I have, but there won’t be much of me left for you after that. I love you, too, but I can’t keep giving you all of me with nothing left in return; where does that leave me? If you have all of me… how will I pick up the scraps and pieces you leave behind when you decide that things still aren’t right yet? So please don’t ask me to do that, Kendrix. Don’t ask me to knowingly take every piece of me and hand it over to you. Please don’t ask me to give you more time when the clock strikes 12 and our days are up. Don’t ask me to forget our past, and trust you to handle the future better. I did that before, and it left me in a place where I never wanted to be, fiddling through the remains of us, replaying every encounter to see where I went wrong. I need you to take what I can physically give you and make it enough.”
He nodded and held me tighter. His lips pressed gently against my forehead.
“Can I come over tonight and spend the night with you? I want to take care of you tonight.” The emotional toll this conversation had taken on me left me wishing I could go home now, but I just got back, and my staff missed me around here.
“Only if you help me with a project when you come.” I grabbed his hand and led him over to the couch. I pushed him down and straddled his lap. He didn’t say a word but held me closer. I hovered over his length, but he pulled me down. The jeans I wore were pretty thick because of the changing weather, but I could still feel the heat coming from him.
I caressed the side of his face, taking in everything that he was. Kendrix failed to realize his beauty inside and out; the shadows in his eyes from childhood were too consuming. He doesn’t think that he is good enough for me, good enough for happiness, and that is not true. So, if nothing else comes out of this arrangement between us, I will show him that he deserves love. Even if I don’t want to be here to receive all of the love that is trapped underneath the walls of his abuse.
“Why are you staring at me like that, Jewel?”
“Because you are so much more than you see in yourself. I see the best in you, Kendrix, and it makes me sad that you can’t appreciate everything I do when I think of you. You said I am a blessing to you, but you don’t know how much you changed my life. Now, give me a kiss so I can get back to work.” My tongue traced the outline of his lush lips. He tasted like peaches.
“Did you have peach rings?” I mumbled against his lips.
His deep chuckle made me smile, and he poked one of my dimples. “Yes, I got you some. It’s in the bag with your food. Now shut up and get back to work. ”
I frowned at him and went to get up, but he gripped my waist tighter. “Stop playing with me, Jewel.” He said, taking over the kiss. I was going for short and sweet, but he had other plans.
Kendrix gripped my jaw and smashed his lips against mine; it took my breath away. I could still taste the peach rings when he ran his tongue over the roof of my mouth; it felt like he was trying to transfer the flavor over to me. I sucked on his tongue until all the remnants were mine to have. Kissing Kendrix always felt like a dream; he did not half-ass it. He gave it his full attention and effort. If I could keep him here for any other reason, it would be for this right here. He pulled back too soon, but he had to breathe at some point.
“Go eat your food, Jewel, before I lock you away in this office all day. I will let you know when I’m on my way over.” He gave me one last chastened kiss and left before I could take him up on that offer.
After the last staff member left, I walked out of the kitchen to lock up and saw Levi, one of my favorite people, waiting for me.
“Ready?” I ran to him, and he caught me and spun me around. His deep chuckle brought a smile to my face. We’ve done this same song and dance since we were kids. I squealed from his fingers, tickling my sides. “Stop, Lee. You know I hate how ticklish I am.” He let me down and opened the door for me so I could lock up.
“What are you doing here?” The streetlight outside of the café helped me get a good look at him. Levi Hillman is a walking heart-stopper. Thank God I am immune to his looks. He’s the big brother I never had; his golden taupe skin complimented by his brown eyes that sparkled when the sun hit them at the right angle. Levi’s tall stature, broad shoulders, and fit body were the ingredients for the perfect man. He’s my gentle giant of a brother; I received a built-in best friend when he came to live with us at Granny Lucy’s.
“Kendrix asked me to pick you up because he’s busy with something apparently, and work has been keeping me occupied, so I haven’t been able to spend that much time with you lately. How are you?” We stopped to chat outside our cars for a minute.
“I have been alright since the whole situation with Cameron. Kendrix has been over the top with his overprotective nature. Today was my first day back at work, and it was great. How are things with you? You look like something is bothering you.” Levi usually had only two moods: serious or class clown. But right now, he looked like he was carrying everyone’s burdens.
He swiped a hand down his face and mustered a tiny smile for me. “There have been some moving pieces at work lately that I can’t get ahead of. I am trying not to worry about it, but something isn’t quite right. Obviously, I can’t talk about it, but keep me prayed up. Have you talked to Asha? She is back to not answering my calls.” Asha texted me this morning to wish me a good first day back at the job. Their relationship was a mystery to me; she never wanted to talk about Levi but somehow knew information about him. She kept tabs on him like he tried to do with her, but she refused to talk about him to us. I know he hurt her, but there was so much more going on with her than that.
“I did talk to her this morning; she texted me in our group chat. But I am sorry things are rough for you right now at work. Let me know if I can help in any way. Kendrix is waiting for me at my house. Are you ready to go?” As soon as those words came out, I instantly regretted them because I didn’t know what the result of us would be, and I didn’t want to get anyone’s hopes up.
Levi smiled but said little; he opened the door for me and led me home. I wanted to install some faux locs in my hair tonight, and Kendrix would help me.